An individual who accused Alaska Airlines Inc. of denying his family the ability to board a return flight from Mexico to Los Angeles in 2022 unless their toddler received the COVID-19 vaccine has chosen to drop his lawsuit.
The plaintiff, Marc Lazo, submitted a request on Wednesday to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jill Feeney, asking for the dismissal of his lawsuit “with prejudice,” indicating that it cannot be refiled. The court documents do not mention whether Lazo settled the case or decided not to pursue it for other reasons.
In his lawsuit, Lazo alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, and violation of the state Business and Professions Code, while seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
According to Alaska Airlines attorneys, any damages suffered by Lazo were the result of the negligence or wrongful acts of other individuals or entities, not the airline itself.
Lazo, along with his wife and two children, attempted to board a flight from Puerto Vallarta to LAX on April 23, 2022, when they were stopped by an Alaska Airlines agent who demanded that their then-2-year-old child be vaccinated first, as stated in Lazo’s court papers. The gender of the child is not mentioned in the documents.
When Lazo informed the agent about an important event in Los Angeles that evening, she informed him about an off-site testing location and reassured them that they could still board the aircraft if the child tested negative, according to Lazo’s lawsuit filed on August 1 of last year.
Lazo left with the 2-year-old to get the COVID test, causing significant distress for the plaintiff, while his wife remained at the airport gate with their other child, who was less than a year old, as described in Lazo’s lawsuit.
Upon returning with the vaccinated older child and proof of a negative test, the family was still denied boarding by an Alaska Airlines employee. The employee stepped outside of a kiosk, pointed a finger at Lazo, yelled, and temporarily prevented him from moving so he could tend to his screaming 2-year-old in a stroller, according to Lazo’s complaint. Eventually, the employee calmed down and returned behind the kiosk, as stated in Lazo’s court papers.
With the assistance of a customer service agent, Lazo and his family were able to board a flight four hours after their scheduled departure time, but it was already too late for them to attend the intended event in Los Angeles. Lazo’s court documents further detail the humiliation and emotional distress caused by these events.
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